| 释义 |
▪ I. mite1|maɪt|
Also 4–6 myte, (5 moighte, myght).
[OE. míte wk. fem. = MDu., MLG. mîte (Du. mijt fem.), OHG. mîȥa fem., gnat:—OTeut. *mîtôn-. Cf. F. mite, of Teut. origin.
Franck suggests derivation from the Indogermanic root *mei- expressing smallness. Some refer the word to an ablaut-variant of the Teut. root *mait- (Goth. maitan, OHG. meiȥen) to cut.]
1. a. In early use, applied vaguely to any minute insect or arachnid; sometimes spec. a small parasitic insect infesting hawks. Now usually restricted to certain genera of the order Acarida of arachnids, and chiefly applied to the cheese-mite, Tyroglyphus (formerly Acarus) domesticus.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 122/6 Ta[r]mus, maþa, mite. c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 560, I..wered vpon my gaye scarlet gytes. Thise wormes ne thise Motthes ne thise mytes Vpon my peril frete hem neuer a deel. 1472–3Rolls of Parlt. VI. 59/1 Such [wools] as shall happen to rote or perych by long standyng, bityng of moightes. c1475Pict. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 767/26 Hoc gamalion, a myght. 1486Bk. St. Albans C v, An hawke that hath mites. 1530Palsgr. 245/2 Myte in chese, myte. 1601Shakes. All's Well i. i. 154 Virginitie breedes mites, much like a Cheese. 1611Cotgr., Calendre, the corne-deuouring Mite, or Weeuill. 1633Latham Falconry Words Art Expl., Mites, are a kinde of vermine smaller then Lice, and most about the heads and nares of Hawks. 1658Rowland Moufet's Theat. Ins. 1094 In English, Mites, in cheese, leaves, dry wood, and wax. 1732Pope Ess. Man i. 196 Say what the use, were finer optics giv'n, T' inspect a mite, not comprehend the heav'n? 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v., The Mites among figs resemble beetles. 1870Nicholson Man. Zool. xxxvii. (1875) 269 Several Mites (Thalassarachna, Pontarachna, &c.) have been found to inhabit salt water. 1881E. A. Ormerod Injur. Insects 62 Other kinds of mites which may very likely be found on currant bushes. 1896tr. Boas' Zool. 285 Peculiar microscopic Mites..(Demodex folliculorum) occur in the follicles of the human nose.
b. With defining word prefixed (see quots.).
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 48/2 The siro, or cheese-mite, is a very minute species. Ibid. 49/1 The baccarum, or scarlet tree-mite, is a small species [of Acarus]. 1833Penny Cycl. I. 69/2 Water-Mites (Hydrachnellæ). 1833Itch-mite [see itch n. 3]. 1835Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. xix. II. 305 A species of bat-mite [Pteroptes]. 1870Nicholson Man. Zool. xxxvii. (1875) 269 The Wood-mites (Oribatidæ)..are to be found amongst moss and herbage, or creeping upon trees or stones. 1874Hardwicke's Sci.-Gossip 234 Tetranychus Lapidum (Stone Mite). 1874,1877Harvest-mite [see harvest n. 7]. 1896tr. Boas' Zool. 284 The Beetle-mites (genus Gamasus) frequently occur on Beetles, Bumble-bees, etc... An allied, but thin-skinned form, the common Bird-mite (Dermanyssus avium) occurs on Birds (Fowls, Canaries), and sucks their blood. 1898E. A. Ormerod Handbk. Insects 61 Phytoptus ribis, or the Currant Bud Mite.
2. slang. A cheesemonger.
[1765Foote Commissary iii. i, Miss Cicely Mite, the only daughter of old Mite the cheesemonger.] 1785Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue, Mite, a nick name for a cheesemonger, from the small insect of that name found in cheese.
3. attrib. and Comb., as mite-breeding, mite fly, etc.; mite-borne a., carried or transmitted by mites; so mite-borne typhus, scrub typhus; also called mite typhus.
1939Brit. Encycl. Med. Pract. XII. 347 The classical form of the disease is the Japanese river fever which bears the same relation to mite-borne typhus fevers as does Rocky Mountain fever to the tick-borne. 1974Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xii. 73/2 The rash spares the face in louse-borne typhus but not in the mite-borne disease.
1624Gataker Transubst. 191 Corruption, putrefaction, mite-breeding [etc.].
1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1824) I. 405 These [cheeses] are never found to breed mites.., probably because the mite-fly is not to be found in Lapland.
1881E. A. Ormerod Injur. Insects 180 The Mite-infested bud.
1921Indian Med. Gaz. LVI. 370/1 (table) Mite typhus. 1939Brit. Encycl. Med. Pract. XII. 348 Scrub or rural form of tropical typhus..has been found to be mite-typhus conveyed by T[rombicula] deliensis. 1959C. Ogburn Marauders (1960) viii. 265 He had all of the three worst scourges of the organization, in combination: mite typhus, amoebic dysentery and malaria.
1878Emerson Sovereignty of Ethics, The same original power which..works in a lobster or a mite-worm.
▪ II. mite2|maɪt|
Also 4 myt, 4–5 myght, 4–6 myte, 5 myth, 6 myit.
[a. (? through OF. mite, 14th c.) MDu. mîte fem. (early mod.Du. mijte, now mijt) = MLG. mîte, meite, meute (whence early mod.G. meite, something very small):—OTeut. *mîtôn-; prob. identical with mite n.1]
1. a. Originally, a Flemish copper coin of very small value; according to some early Flemish writers, worth 1/3 of a Flemish penny, though other, chiefly smaller, values are also mentioned. In Eng. use mainly as a proverbial expression for an extremely small unit of money value. In books of commercial arithmetic in 16–17th c. it commonly appears as the lowest denomination of English money of account, usually 1/24d, but sometimes 1/64d, and sometimes 1/12d; it is, however, unlikely that the word was ever in Eng. mercantile use. From the 14th c. mite has been the usual rendering (though the Wyclif versions have ‘mynutis’) of L. minūtum (Vulg.), Gr. λεπτόν in Mark xii. 43, where two ‘mites’ are stated to make a ‘farthing’ (Gr. κοδράντης, L. quadrans); hence the word was popularly taken as equivalent to ‘half-farthing’.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 196 Haued nouȝt..þe pore widwe [more] for a peire of mytes, Þan alle þo that offreden in-to gazafilacium? c1483Caxton Dialogues 51 A peny, a halfpeny, A ferdyng, a myte. 1535Coverdale Mark xii. 43 And there came a poore wyddowe, and put in two mytes, which make a farthinge. 1577D. Gray Storeh. Brev. Arithm. 5 Firste giue heede howe many Mites make one Farthyng, and that beeyng 6. you shall for euery 6 Mytes cary one Farthyng to the place of farthynges. 1600T. Hill Arithm. iii. i. Pp vij, Four Mites is the aliquot part of a peny, viz. 1/6, for 6. times 4 is 24. and so many mites marchants assigne to 1. peny. 1674S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 77 That is 16 Mites in one Farthing. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Mite, an ancient small Coin, about a third part of our Farthing. 1778Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Littleborough, Notts., Many little coins like flatted peas, called mites, are also found here. 1807Southey Espriella's Lett. I. 243 It will soon entirely disappear, just as the mite or half farthing has disappeared before it. 1863Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 95 We were ferried across [the Ganges] for the moderate remuneration of three mites a head.
†b. In proverbial phrases, as not worth a mite, not to care a mite, etc. (to pay) to the mite: = ‘to the uttermost farthing’, without deduction.
c1350Will. Palerne 4543 William..Greiþed him..so þat non miȝt a-mend a mite worþ, i wene. Ibid. 5348 Al þe men vpon mold it amende ne miȝt..half a mite. c1374Chaucer Compl. Mars 126 He ne roghte not a myte for to dye. c1374― Troylus iii. 783 [832] Yf to lese his Ioye he set a myte, Than seemeth it þat Ioye is worth but lyte. 1375Barbour Bruce iii. 198 And fra the hart be discumfyt The body is nocht worth a myt. c1425Cast. Persev. 247 in Macro Plays 84 Þou synne my sowle sese, I ȝeue not a myth. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) i. 142 And though thei sharme and crye, I care not a myght. 1513Douglas æneis iii. Prol. 19 In cais thai bark, I compt it neuir a myte. 1567Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 176 Bot quhen he had payit all to ane myit, He mon be absoluit than. 1592Greene Groatsw. Wit Wks. (Grosart) XII. 137 Greene will send you now his groat worth of wit, that neuer showed a mites⁓worth in his life.
c. With allusion to Mark xii. 43, (one's) mite is often used for: The small sum which is all that one can afford to give to some charitable or public object; hence fig. applied to an immaterial contribution (insignificant in amount, but the best one can do) to some object or cause.
1650Baxter Saints' R. iv. xiv. 801 Will my mite requite thee for thy golden Mines? 1687Dryden Hind & P. iii. 113 Are you defrauded, when he feeds the poor? Our mite decreases nothing of your store. 1709Swift Tritical Ess. Wks. 1755 II. i. 140, I hope I may be allowed among so many far more learned men to offer my mite. 1747Berkeley Tar-water in Plague Wks. 1871 III. 479 It may not be amiss to contribute my mite of advice. 1784Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 103 My mite for such purpose was never refused. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. ix, Reuben Butler went to offer his mite of consolation to his old friend and benefactor. 1827Roberts Voy. Centr. Amer. 255, I have been desirous..to add my mite to the great mass of information. 1873Morley Rousseau I. ix. 328 He subscribed his mite for the erection of a statue to him.
†2. A small weight; spec. the twentieth part of a grain troy. (See note s.v. droit2.) Obs.
1390Gower Conf. II. 275 Lovers..thogh thei love a lyte, That scarsly woulde it weie a myte. 15..MS. Harl. 660 lf. 81 b, Euery subtylle grayne [doth] contayne 20 mytes. 1601,a1649[see droit2]. 1725[see blank n. 10]. 1727Arbuthnot Tables Anc. Coins 109 The Sevil piece of Eight..contains 13 Pennyweight 21 Grains and 15 Mites (of which there are 20 in the Grain) of Sterling Silver. 1727–38Chambers Cycl. (ed. 3) s.v.
3. a. A minute particle or portion; a tiny fragment. Now only colloq. or vulgar.
1608Shakes. Per. ii. Prol. 8 Loosing a Mite, a Mountaine gaine. 1614Sir A. Gorges tr. Lucan iv. 148 Although we few are but a mite Mongst thousands that for him do fight. 1633Ford Love's Sacr. iv. ii, I haue a sword..To..cut your throats, and mince Your flesh to mites. 1670Eachard Cont. Clergy 56 We be but mites of entity, and crumbs of something. 1691Ray Creation ii. 130 The Ants..drop upon them a small Mite of their stinging Liquor. 1820Byron Mar. Fal. iii. i, All the pregnant hearts of our bold blood, Moulder'd into a mite of ashes. 1828Hawthorne Fanshawe vii, A man must keep his mite of honesty.
†b. Arith. A fraction (see quot.) Obs. rare—1.
1709–29V. Mandey Syst. Math., Arith. 21 A Fraction or Broken Number, is that which we assign for a part or parts of any whole thing. It is also wont to be called a Mite or Fraction, because these things are broke into small parts.
4. fig. A ‘jot’, ‘whit’. Now only colloq. (used adverbially).
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xx. 178 Surgerye ne Fisyke May nouȝte a myte auaille to medle aȝein elde. c1420Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1814 Be hyt ryght or wrong, he changeth nat a myte. 1571Golding Calvin on Ps. ii. 6 He is further of from earthly men, than that the whole multitude of them can one myte deface the glory of him alone. 1573New Custome iii. i. D iij b, God waieth not, who is a sprite, Of any vesture, or outward appearance a mite. 1632Tatham Love Crowns the End i. (1640) K i b, Since then my love is not one mite rewarded. 1886C. D. Warner Their Pilgrimage xi. (1888) 256 The White Sulphur waters..had not done her a mite of good. 1897Graphic (Christm. No.) 9, I wonder whether you will help me a mite to-day. 1906W. Churchill Coniston 191 He's a hard one to fool, too. Never suspected a mite did he? 1939L. M. Montgomery Anne of Ingleside i. 9 You needn't be a mite afraid to sleep in that bed. I aired the sheets to-day. 1955H. Croome Mountain & Molehill ii. 29 We were a mite surprised to see so many German names on your prospectus. 1958Spectator 22 Aug. 241/2 This, to me, is a mite depressing. 1972J. Porter Meddler & her Murder viii. 107 ‘There was no need to go to all that expense, dear,’ said Miss Jones, a mite huffily. 1972J. Wainwright Night is Time to Die 66 If..the farmer buys pigs..and wishes to move them..he must obtain such a licence... This..may seem a mite bureaucratic. 1974Wodehouse Aunts aren't Gentlemen iii. 20 Last night..it may be that I became a mite polluted, but that rarely happens.
5. A very small object; often, a very small living creature, as a tiny child. (Cf. miting.)
In some instances this use might perh. be more properly referred to mite1.
1594Lyly Mother Bombie ii. ii, Well, without Halfepenie all my witte is not woorth a dodkin: that mite is miching in this groue, for as long as his name is Halfepenie, he will bee banquetting for the other Halfepenie. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 7 And tales of fairy-land he loved to hear, Those mites of human forms,..That through a lock-hole even creep with ease. 1852Dickens Bleak Ho. xv, A mite of a boy, some five or six years old. 1883Gd. Words 639 When I was quite a little mite. 1893Atlantic Monthly Feb. 283/1 What an intense spark of vitality must it be that warms such a mite [viz. a bird] in such an immensity of cold.
6. mite society, a 19th-century society whose object was to collect funds for some charitable purpose by small contributions (see sense 1 c).
1822Missionary Herald (Boston, Mass.) XVIII. 21 Female Mite So[ciety] for Cher[okee] and Choc[taw] missions [gave $]25. 1823Baptist Mag. IV. 133, I have also assisted in the organization of two Female Mite Societies. 1872Newton Kansan 26 Sept. 3/2 The Mite Society will hold a ten cent sociable in the school room this Thursday evening. 1878Harper's Mag. Jan. 203/1 By means of ‘mite’ societies..sufficient money was raised to inclose it [sc. the grave-yard]. 1883C. F. Wilder Sister Ridnour's Sacrifice 262 We call upon certain poor, we attend the ‘Dorcas’, the socials, the festivals, and mite societies. |